Chapter 51

Seeing that the two of them were unharmed, Liu Xiaolou felt very relieved and smiled: "My disciple is in trouble; as the Sect Master, how could I not come?"

Lord Xingde rolled his eyes: "What disciple? If you really want to talk about it, I am the Supreme Sect Master!"

After the joke, Liu Xiaolou briefly told them about the situation outside, and then said: "The Zhou family is blockading the mountains and hunting, and there are experts from the Green Jade Sect presiding. It just so happens that these two guys had ulterior motives, so I followed them in. If it weren't for them relying on their Mount Tianmu background to throw their weight around, I really wouldn't have been able to get in."

The tomb chamber was relatively dim. Zhou Qiniang only then saw the person on the ground and whispered: "Young Master Lu!"

Lord Xingde asked: "People from the Lu family?"

Zhou Qiniang said: "The younger brother of Lu Yuanlang, who ranks third in the inner sect of Mount Tianmu. He often comes to my home in Dongting Lake."

Lord Xingde frowned: "This guy... what is he doing going to your house?"

Zhou Qiniang glared at him: "He took a fancy to Jiuniang. Every time Jiuniang comes, he rushes over as soon as he hears the news."

Lord Xingde breathed a sigh of relief: "He's not a good thing either. Su Jiuniang? Is he even worthy?"

Liu Xiaolou hurriedly asked about their plans. Lord Xingde said: "This place is secret. Seven Niang and I plan to stay for a few more days. Once they can't find us, they will naturally leave."

Liu Xiaolou shook his head vigorously: "Do you know why the Zhou family and the Qingyu Sect chased directly to Taoyuan? I heard from Young Master Lu and this steward surnamed Zhang that the Qingyu Sect has a kind of Spirit-Ghost Technique..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Qiniang let out an "ah" and started fumbling, taking off the hairpins, chains, bracelets, etc., from her head, neck, and wrists, and opened the box in the package, pouring things out, constantly blaming herself: "It's all my fault, it's all my fault... I didn't think of this... this... which one is it hidden in..."

She was flustered while searching, and was about to cry from anxiety.

Liu Xiaolou said: "Aunt Seven, don't worry. This spell only senses a general area; otherwise, they would have found this place after blockading the mountains for a day. Moreover, I reckon this tomb is quite deep, which also weakens the sensing to a certain extent, so we are safe for now. Senior, the Qingyu Sect has a spell called the Spirit-Ghost Technique; it should be that they put something in one of Aunt Seven's items..."

After a brief explanation, Lord Xingde understood: "What thing? How was it put there?"

Zhou Qiniang said: "A kind of phantom ghost thing. Come and help me probe with true essence..."

Liu Xiaolou also joined in and got busy for a while, but found nothing unusual on these pearl and jade ornaments. He looked at Zhou Qiniang's body and pointed to Lord Xingde: "Senior..."

Lord Xingde slapped his forehead: "Clothes!"

Zhou Qiniang pointed outside: "You go out first."

Lord Xingde and Liu Xiaolou left the tomb chamber and waited in the tomb passage outside for a while, then heard Zhou Qiniang shout inside: "Damn it!"

Lord Xingde rushed in first, and Liu Xiaolou followed closely, but was pushed out by Lord Xingde: "Don't come in!"

"Ah..." Liu Xiaolou realized and had to continue waiting outside. When he was anxious, Lord Xingde came out and greeted: "It's done."

Returning to the tomb chamber, Lord Xingde shook his head: "Truly damn it, it's the undergarment... Seven Niang, that maid of yours named Ping'er, it must be her doing. I told you long ago that she couldn't be trusted!"

Zhou Qiniang's face was flushed: "What are you saying!"

Lord Xingde said indignantly: "Am I wrong? We've been together for so many years, why haven't we been discovered? Why were we discovered less than a year after that girl came to your side?"

Zhou Qiniang stamped her feet: "It's not..."

Liu Xiaolou interrupted them: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this first. It's good that we found it. Throw it in the coffin, and it will be much easier for us to go out."

Zhou Qiniang said: "Still can't. Xiaolou, didn't you say just now that the Qingyu Sect people also came? If we go out, they might use the Form-Capturing Technique."

Liu Xiaolou said: "They already used it, and there's also the manifestation of the mountain god."

Lord Xingde was confused again: "I know about the manifestation of the mountain god, but what is the Form-Capturing Technique?"

Zhou Qiniang explained again, and Lord Xingde said depressedly: "Your Qingyu Sect has so many tricks... what should we do about this?"

Liu Xiaolou was even more speechless: "Senior, Aunt Seven, I thought you had prepared for three months and could be well-prepared. Are you eloping without understanding anything? Forget it, there's already a way to deal with the Form-Capturing Technique. Hou Hou Guanshi Zhang has a jade token on him that can hide one's form. We just need to avoid that manifested mountain god on the mountaintop."

Taking the jade token from Hou Hou Guanshi Zhang and the Lu family token of Mount Tianmu from Young Master Lu's waist, Liu Xiaolou urged Lord Xingde and Zhou Qiniang to change clothes. Lord Xingde changed into Hou Hou Guanshi Zhang's clothes, while Zhou Qiniang took off Young Master Lu's long robe and draped it over herself, untied her hair, combed it again, and did a simple and rough disguise.

But it still didn't look right. Fortunately, it was night, so there was no need to worry too much.

He searched Hou Hou Guanshi Zhang and found three spirit stones and twenty or thirty taels of scattered silver, but Young Master Lu had nothing on him. Liu Xiaolou despised him for a while, unsealed their mute acupoints, and interrogated them on the spot: "Where are the spirit stones and silver buried?"

Young Master Lu said with a mournful face: "I don't carry spirit stones or silver when I go out, but I have them at home. Brother Liu, spare my life, and I will go back to the mountain and get them for you. Brother, rest assured, twenty spirit stones! Three thousand taels of silver! No, thirty spirit stones, five thousand taels of silver!"

Hou Hou Guanshi Zhang was much tougher, just cursing Liu Xiaolou, telling the thief Liu to wait, and how he would do this and that one day. He was slapped by Liu Xiaolou until his mouth was full of blood and broken teeth, and the dirty words he said couldn't be heard clearly.

Liu Xiaolou was extremely disappointed. At this time, he couldn't delay any longer, so he had to give up.

Zhou Qiniang looked at Young Master Lu hesitantly and asked Lord Xingde: "Just leave him here?"

Lord Xingde saw her soft-heartedness and said: "In any case, we can't let him go now... perhaps in a day or two, people from your family will be able to find this place."

Zhou Qiniang sighed and had to follow Lord Xingde out.

Liu Xiaolou stayed at the end, picked up Young Master Lu and Steward Zhang, threw them into the coffin, and pointed at their vital acupoints respectively. The two of them stared at Liu Xiaolou, unable to make a sound, their eyes gradually turning gray, like dead fish.

Liu Xiaolou had no time to look more, closed the coffin lid again, and left the tomb.

At this moment, it was the darkest time before dawn. The jade token emitted a faint magic power, canceling out the Form-Capturing Technique and protecting the three of them as they left the valley.

They couldn't take the main road into the valley, as there were people inside who recognized Young Master Lu, so the three of them chose a small path to leave the valley, while keeping an eye on the huge manifested mountain god on the mountaintop, and detouring from the blind spot of the mountain god's gaze.

Lord Xingde was more familiar with the mountain roads than Liu Xiaolou. Without knowing it, they detoured out from a small path in the northwest. The Lu family identity token didn't even play a role, and they escaped from the Taoyuan mountains, fleeing from the blockade of the Qingyu Sect and the Zhou family.

Lord Xingde and Zhou Qiniang's plan was to flee to the Bashu region, which was far away from Jingxiang, and the Green Jade Sect couldn't reach it, making it a good place to hide.

Liu Xiaolou stuffed the three spirit stones and silver he had searched out, as well as a page of yellow paper, to Lord Xingde: "This trip is thousands of miles long; having an extra spirit stone or an extra tael of silver on you is always good. By the way, this is the secret technique of my Three Mystical Sect; Senior must practice it, it's good for your body."

Lord Xingde didn't act coy: "Then I'll accept it."

The two sides waved goodbye. Liu Xiaolou watched their figures disappear into the night, suddenly feeling happy, and the joy was indescribable.